I love autumn. It’s my favorite season — the air is brisk, though the sun is still warm, and the sky — so dramatic. And the colors! Oh, the gorgeous colors of fall, so fabulous, yet so short-lived. It’s a glorious, bittersweet time of year, made all the more so because of its brevity.
I spent some time this afternoon reveling in it, walking through a tree laden park just outside the Ramada Ojibway hotel where we’re staying tonight in Sault Ste. Marie. The trees here in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are wearing their fall colors and the ground is littered with the colorful crunch of leaves shaken loose from winds that blow along the Soo Locks canal.
Some interesting “gee whiz” facts about the locks: More than 11,000 vessels, carrying up to 90 million tons of cargo pass through the Soo Locks every year according to the Visitors’ Info Guide. Many different types of vessels lock through the system — large 1,000 foot ships carry more than 72,000 tons of freight in a single load. Most cargo contained in these ships is either iron ore, coal, grain, or stone. The slide show below explains more, and gives you a view of autumn, glorious autumn. Hovering your cursor at the bottom of each photo will reveal the pause button. The gals in the photos are Elizabeth Letchworth, Luan Francis, and yours truly, sporting a black leather newsboy cap I found for $2 in a local consignment shop across the street from the hotel!
Beautiful. I live in michigan but I don’t brag about it because the Grinch wHitler lol
How did I miss this post?? Excellent pictures. Are Luan and Elizabeth friends of yours? If so, is Elizabeth related to the person the famous Letchworth State Park here in Noo Yawkistan was named after? Just curious, gotta ask ;>}.
It’s midnight here, the temp is 2°. Sick of it.
anoldpieceofleather
Yes, both Luan (“Lulu”) and Elizabeth are friends with whom I traveled on several political road trips. Those were taken in 2012 when we were touring swing states (mostly Michigan, Ohio and PA) with others in our Political Action Committee holding rallies and reaching out to voters in support of (God forgive me) Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan who were challenging Obama for his second term. Letchworth was Elizabeth’s married name. Her late husband’s people were from Louisiana. Uncertain if there’s a connection with the NY Letchworth name. PS – Cooler temps here in sunny Florida as well. Got down into the low 50s this week. “Christmas Season” weather. Perfect!